One in Three Homes in June Suffer Price Cut ...

One in four homes listed reduced asking price on an average of 10% as of August 1st. This is the third month in a row that the percentage of listings suffered price reductions. Luxury homes, defined as those priced over $2.0 million, took a bigger hit with an average reduction of 14%. Industry pundits recommend that sellers are better off setting the list price under the market to encourage demand and competition rather than to overprice the home.

Although sellers and real estate agents may disagree on the initial listing price, a pre-signed price reduction is advisable to ensure that if a price cut is necessary that it is done quickly. The general rule of thumb in the real estate industry is that a listing may get stale after two weeks on the market without action.

The median home value is down 12.1% during the second quarter compared to the same time a year ago, and 22.3% from the market peak in 2007.